Electric clock



Dec. 16, 1941. w AYD N 2,266,198

ELECTRIC CLOCK Filed Jan. 25, 1940 s Sheets-Sheet 1 "Winn Q ATTORNEY I) 16, 1941. A, w AYD N 2,266,198

ELECTRIC CLOCK Filed Jan. 25, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 i I J I INVENTOR 7 MM w ATTORNEY Dec. 16, 1941. w, H YDON v 2,266,198

ELECTRI'C CLOCK Filed Jan. 25, 1940 1 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 m INVENTOR Patented Dec. 16, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRIC CLOCK Arthur William Haydon, Marion, Conn.

Application January 25, 1940, Serial No. 315,555

12 Claims.

My invention relates to timing devices and more particularly to motor-driven clocks of the type in which the numerals'indicating time are carried by a series of rings or drums.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a clock of the type mentioned above in which the parts are so constructed and arranged that the numeral bearing rings, the motor and the driving mechanism may all be confined in a small space, with the motor mounted within the rings.

A further object of my invention is to provide a motor-driven clock in which all of the moving parts are arranged so that they rotate or oscillate about axes that are parallel, a feature which greatly facilitates assembly and contributes to the compactness of the mechanism.

In general, I prefer to attain the principal objects of my invention by providing what may .be characterized as an open mounting or supporting means for the row ofnumeral bearing rings, thus providing space within the ring supporting means for accommodating the motor and I prefer to arrange the parts so that the driving mechanism interconnecting the motor with the rings is also disposed within the rings. In rotating drum clocks as heretofore constructed the drums or rings are generally mounted on a central shaft. This shaft, and the necessary connections between it and the numeral bearing portions of the drums, occupied so much of the space within the drums that it was very difficult to arrange the drum actuating mechanism within the drums, and, so far as I am aware, no one has heretofore provided a construction ailording suflicient space within the drums to accommodate the driving motor. this is accomplished by utilizing numeral bearing drums. in the form of rings having inner bearing surfaces of large diameter engaging sup porting means located close to the inner. surface of the rings and spaced a considerable distance from the center of the row of rings. This makes it possible to mount the motor within the numeral bearing rings and inside the support therefor, the motor preferably occupying a part of the According to my invention may be provided with internal ratchet teeth, and the mechanism cooperating with the motor and the rings to rotate the same preferably comprises a series of pawls and a pawl carrier arranged to oscillate in the space between the motor and the inner surfaces of the numeral 1 bearing rings. This pawl carrier may be mounted clock comprise an "hour ring and two additional rings, one a minute ring bearing the numerals from zero to 9 to indicate minutes, and the other bearing two sets of numerals from zero to 5 inline 4 4 of Fig. 3;

on a rocker member driven by cam mechanism connected to the motor unit. I may also provide an additional numeral bearing ring the numerals of which indicate seconds, and where this additional ring is employed I ptovide a gear train between the motor unit and this ring so arranged that the seconds ring is drivenv continuously.

The various objects and features of my invention will be more apparent upon considering the following detailed description of a typical embodiment thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section view of the clock mechanism taken on line ll of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

'Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 4 with parts cut away to better illustrate details of construction of other parts of the mechanism;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section view taken on Fig. 5 is a transverse section view taken on line 5-5 of Fig.3;

Fig. 6 is a transverse section view taken on line 66 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the oscillating pawl carrier;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the minute ring and Fig. 9 is a front elevation of the clock mechanism.

Referring particularly to Figs. l'to 6 inclusive,

:the timing mechanism is shown mounted in a suitable case comprising a base I, front and rear walls 2 and 3 respectively and a cover 4 hinged to the rear wall as shown at 5. The cover 4 is provided with an opening or window 6 through which may be seen a row of numerals carried by a series of drums or rings within the casing, these numerals indicating time. Thus an hour ring 1 (see Fig. 9) bears the numerals from 1 to 12 equally spaced around the periphery of the ring, a.ten minute ring 8 bears the numerals from zero to 5 on one-half of this ring and these numerals are repeated around the remaining dicating ten minute" intervals. 'These rings portion of the ring- The m nute ring bears the numerals from zero to 9, and I may also provide a seconds ring iii bearing numerals inseeonds, The several rings are arranged in a row so that the set of numerals visible through the opening in the casing indicate the time of in hours, minutes and seconds; The

7], 8, 9 and id have inner bearing surfaces 55,

it, it and 59, respectively, adapted to engage the stationary supporting members ll, 62 and i3. With this type of mounting for the numeral bearing rings it is convenient to make each ring in the form of a relatively thin band having an aeceiee that the pawl 26 engages a ratchet tooth 22 on the hour ring 1 only when the cam follower 32 engages either one of two low portions 33', of the cam suriace 33 on the ten minue ring. The bars 311 and 3 3 overlap to provide an inter lock between the pawls zit/and thus insuring that the periodic advancement of the hour? ring 7 will coincide with a corresponding move- ,ment of the ten minute ring 8.

The mechanism for oscillating the pawl carrier 28 comprises a rocker member consisting of a pair of arm 35 and 35' mounted on a shaft 3% and carrying a cam follower or engaging cam 88 on a cam shaft 39. The cam shaft 39 is driven by the driving pinion to of'the motor unit, this pinion engaging a gear ll on the cam shaft 39. The cam 38 is driven at one revolution per minute and the cam is preferably so designed that the cam follower 3i rises slowly throughout nearly an entire revolution of the cam shaft 39, the follower being normally held against thecam by the spring 52 secured to the inner bearing surface of relatively large diameter, adapted to be engaged by the supporting means at a plurality of spaced points, and the supporting elements may be spaced from each other in such a way as to provide a relatively large space within the rings for accommodating the driving mechanism and a motor unit for progressively rotating the rings as desired.-

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings an electric motor 20 (preferably, although not necessarily, a selfstarting synchronous motor) is mounted within a row of numeral bearing rings. This motor and a suitable gear train unit may be provided with a. casing having lugs 2! engaging the supports 6 I, I2 and 53 so that the motor is rigidly mounted between these supports. The electric motor 20 may be of any suitable type. motors described in my prior Patents, 1,935,208; 1,977,184; 1,977,185; 1,996,375, and 2,049,261 are appropriate for this purpose and, in general, any electric motor of compact design may be emplayed, the motor being mounted within the row of numeral bearing rings. v

Thefhour ring, the ten minute ring'and the "minute. ring may. be driven progressively by-ratchet and pawl mechanism' Thus these v three rings may be provided with internal ratchet scam mechanism hereinafter described, oscillates once each minute, and the arrangement of the parts is such that the pawl 21 engages each-- The synchronoussupport it. As the follower til passes beyond,

the high point of the cam 3%, thejspring 62 contracts to advance the pawl carrier 28 and thus the spring supplies the energy which is required to rapidly advance the pawls 25, 2d and 2?. This arrangement of the parts is very desirable for it makes it possible to use a small motor. having only sufficient power to gradually expand the spring 42 as the cam 38 rotates through nearly a cmplete revolution, the motor is never required to deliver a considerable amount of energy to the driving mechanism overfa brief pe-' riod of time. 7

Where a seconds ring isemployed, as shown at I0, I prefer to provide this ring with. internal gear teeth and to employ a gear-train for establishing a driving connection between the motor pinion 40 and the seconds ring. This driving connection is best illustrated in Fig. 2 wherein the internal gear teeth on the ,seconds ring III are shown,at43 and the intermediate gears meshing with these gear teeth and with the driv- V of one revolution per minute.

In the apparatus illustrated in the accompanying drawings all of-the rotating or oscillating parts have axes extending parallel to' each other.

This arrangement is desirable for. it greatly facilitates the assembly of the apparatus.

' and 45, and the rocker member 35, 35' are mounted parallel to each other, in the end of the motor unit housing and in the end plate [5. There is sufilclent space between the motor unit 29 and the rings 7, 8, 9 and III to accommodate succeeding ratchet tooth on the minute" ring 9 whereby this ring is intermittently advanced so as to make one revolution in 10 minutes. This minu ring 9-has a camsurface 29 cooperatin: with a. cam follower 30 mounted on the pawl carrier 28 and this-cam follower 30 is connected to the pawl 26 by a bar 3| so that the pawl 26 engages a. ratchet tooth 2301 the ten minute ring 8 only when the camiollower 30 engages the lowpart of the cam surface 29, i. e. that portion of the cam surface 29 shown at. 29' in In like manner. a cam follower 32 engages a cam surface 33 on the ten minute" ring the pawl carrier 28-which intermittently advances the pawls 25, 26 and 21, whereby the rings 1, 8 and 9 are progressively advanced.

tion of 10 minutes the cam follower 36 permits the pawl 25 to engage a ratchet tooth on the ten minute" ring 8 to advance this ring one 8 an is connected tothe pawl 25 by a bar 34 so 7 step, and the pawl. 21 simultaneously advances Theshaft for the cam 38, the gears 44' the "minute ring 9 to its zero position. In like manner, at the expiration of one hour, the cam follower 32 permits the pawl 25 to engage a ratchet tooth on the hour ring I to advance this ring one step, and at this moment the pawls 26 and 2! advance the ten minute ring 8 and the minute ring 9.

The setting of the clock maybe readily accomplished by lifting the cover 4 and advancing the rings 1, 8, 9 and by hand until the desired setting is obtained. If desired, a frame 46 may be mounted on the end plates l4 and I5, registering with the opening 6 in the cover I. This frame carries a pane of transparent material 41 and it is provided. with an index 48 in close proximity to the seconds ring I0,

It is to be understood that my invention is not limited to the particular embodiment herein described in detail. For example, the seconds ring ill and the driving connection therefor may be omitted if the device is intended for uses where it is merely necessary to observe the time in minutes and hours, and other modifications, changes or omissions may be made without departing from the scope of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A device of the type described, comprising a row of rings bearing numerals, supporting means within said row of rings, the said ring being loosely mounted on said supporting means for rotation independently of each other, a motor mounted within. said supporting means, and driving means cooperating with said motor and said rings whereby the rings are progressively rotated said supporting means being common to all of said rings. i

2. A device of the type described, comprising a row of rings bearing numerals, stationary supporting means within said row of rings, the said rings being loosely mounted on said supporting means for rotation independently of each other, a motor mounted within said supporting means, and driving means mounted within said supporting means and cooperating with said motor and said rings, whereby the rings are progressively rotated.

3. A device of the type described, comprising a row of rings bearing numerals and each having an inner bearing surface, a plurality of supports within said row of rings, engaging the bearing surfaces thereof, a motor mounted on said supports and disposed within said row of rings, and driving means cooperating with said motor and said rings whereby the rings are progressively rotated.

4. A device of the type described, comprising a pair of bearing plates, a plurality of supports carried by said plates, a row of numeral bearing rings loosely mounted on said supports between said plates, a motor mounted onsaid supports between said bearing plates and driving means cooperating with said motor and said rings whereby the rings are progressively rotated,

5. A device of the type described, comprising a row of rings bearing numerals, supporting means within said row of rings, said rings being loosely mounted on said supporting means for rotation independently of each other, a motor disposed.

rings whereby the rings are progressively rotated.

6. A device of the type described, comprising a row of three numeral bearing rings each having internal ratchet teeth and an inner bearing surface and two of the rings having inner cam surfaces, supporting means within said row of rings engaging the bearing surfaces thereof, a motor, a cam driven by said motor, a rocker member mounted within said row of rings, a cam follower carried by said rocker member and engaging the motor-driven cam, a shaft carried by said rocker memberjpawls mounted on said shaft and ar ranged to engage the ratchet teeth of the said rings, cam followers mounted on said shaft and engaging the cam surfaces of the said rings, and means for interlocking the pawls and cam followers carried by said shaft whereby the rings are progressively rotated.

7. A device of the type described, comprising a row of numeral bearing rings including an hour ring, a ten minute ring and a minu ring, each of said rings having internal ratchet teeth and an inner bearing surface and the ten minute and minute rings each having an inner cam surface, supporting means within said row of rings engaging the bearing surfaces thereof, a motor, a rocker member mounted within said row of rings, a shaft carried by said rocker member, pawls mounted on said shaft and arranged to engage the ratchet teeth of said rings, cam followers mounted on said shaft and engaging the cam surfaces of said ten minute and minute rings, means cooperating with said motor and said rocker member for causing said shaft to oscillate, and means for interlocking the pawls and cam followers carried by said shaft whereby the rings are progressively rotated.

8. A device of the type described, comprising a row of rings bearing numerals, supporting means within said row of rings, said rings being loosely mounted on said supporting means for rotation independently of each other, a motor disposed within said row of rings, a gear train interconnecting said motor and one of said rings whereby the same is driven continuously and means cooperating with said motor and the other rings whereby said other rings are intermittently advanced.

ing an inner bearing surface, the seconds ring having internal gear teeth, the hour ring, the ten minute ring and the minute ring each having internal ratchet teeth and the ten minute and minute rings each having an inner cam surface, supporting means within said row of rings engaging the bearing surfaces thereof, a motor carried by said supporting means and disposed within said row of rings, a rocker member mounted within said row of rings, a shaft carried by said rocker member, pawlsmounted on said shaft and adapted toengage the ratchet teeth of said rings, cam followers mounted on said shaft and engaging the cam surfaces of said ten minute and minute rings, means cooperating with said motor and said rocker member for causing said shaft to oscillate, means for interlocking the pawls and cam. followers carried by said shaft whereby the hour ring, the ten minute ring and the minute ring are intermittently advanced, and means cooperating with said mot-or and said seconds ring whereby the seconds" ring is rotated continuously.

means within said row of rings comprising an oscillating member driven by said motor and arranged to advance said rings progressively, and

' a support for said oscillating member arranged so that it oscillates about an axis parallel to the motor axis.

11. A device of the type described, comprising a row of numeral bearing rings, means within said rings for supporting the same, a motor within said supporting means, means for mounting said motor with its axis extending in the same direction as the axis of said row of rings, driving means cooperating with said motor and with certain of said rings whereby they are intermittently advanced, said driving means comprising an oscillating member and means for supporting the same whereby it oscillates about .an axis parz: enemas allel to the motor axis and a gear train cooperating with said motor and one of said rings whereby the same is driven continuously, the gears of said gear train having axes parallel to the axis of said motor.

12. A device of the type described, comprising a row of numeral bearing rings having. inner bearing surfaces and ratchet teeth, supporting means within said row of rings and engaging the bearing surfaces thereof, a motor mounted withan oscillating pawl carrier supporting said pawls, a rocker member supporting said pawl carrier,

ARTHUR WILLIAM HAYDON. 

